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THE TANK MUTT |
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Lone dog stops Israeli tank |
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METULA (Israel)
In a bizarre spectacle reminiscent of the historic "Tank Man" of Tiananmen Square, a tiny pooch pranced into the path of an oncoming Israeli Merkava MK2 tank on Aug. 12 at the height of the brutal, 34-day Israeli-Hezbollah war. Whether the dog's act was a symbolic protest against the violence, or whether he just spotted a duck on the other side of the street, we can't be sure. In either case the tank commander ordered the vehicle to come to a full stop and waited for the little grey terrier to pass. Two days later the warring leaders agreed to honor a ceasefire. Did Tank Mutt have anything to do with that? Who knows. Sometimes it takes a dog to remind us of our humanity.
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In 1997, Arabic News reported that a dog had been sentenced to death at an Israeli post near Jericho. Visiting Palestinian ministers had complained that the dog of the post, "Azit", barked too much, and they demanded that she be shot. Senior Israeli officials agreed with the Palestinian ministers and ordered the execution. But the Israeli policeman who was told to kill the dog refused. He passed the order to a soldier. The soldier also refused and passed the order to his commander. The commander also refused and sent the order back to the officials. Two days later the officials repeated the order, but again everyone refused to carry it out. By the time the order came through a third time, "Azit" had mysteriously disappeared from the post. A soldier explains: "I received an order from a commander of the rank of Major who serves at the DCO (District Coordination Office) at the Allenby Bridge saying the dog must be poisoned or shot. I refused and said it was not my job to do that. If he wants, he should appeal to those responsible over us in the sector. When we understood that they insisted that the dog be killed, we took her safe and sound to a nearby settlement." |
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What does it take to stop a 60-ton tank?
One 35-pound dog.
standstill on the border of Israel and Lebanon.
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